Editing BlazBlue:Phase Shift 3 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 4===
In the dead of night, a bonfire in an iron cage burst open. The wood splintered with a crackle, and golden sparks scattered across the night sky while a faint burning smell mixed with the wind.
With a soft smoky breeze blowing through her platinum hair, Trinity walked down the road, her locks shining under the firelight. Then, she spotted a figure making haste for a hut behind her, but Trinity was faster to call out to it.

— “Wait, Nine—!”


In a night this quiet, even the softest voice could still ripple through the silence with enough intent. Trinity’s voice made Nine stop in her tracks, and after a short beat, she turned around until Trinity could only see half of her.

— “Trinity… what happened?’

Nine’s long hair and large hat cast a shadow over her face, so dark it even cast shade over her heart. Trinity could sense her discomfort, too.

— “I was looking for you… I have something to ask.”


Trinity and Nine stood far apart from each other — so far, yet so close.

— “Is there something you won’t tell us...?” Trinity asked, gently placing her question in front of Nine rather than confronting her with it.


Nine stared somewhere between her and Trinity, as if to stare at the question itself, before she grimaced.

— “Why are you asking me this?”

— “It’s not for no reason. I’ve been thinking about this for a while… you talk so much, but don’t say a lot.”


Nine answered questions and elaborated, but little by little, she preferred to hide information between the lines. The things she refused to talk about were always buried under other subjects.
This was not the first time Nine kept a secret. She had a tendency to keep several at once, and then never talk about them unless asked. Was it because they were so close? Trinity remembered the look on Nine's face in those times. It set her on edge that she couldn't see into her most important secrets.

— “If it helps you or it makes you feel better,” Trinity continued, “I'd like to hear about it... but I don't mind if you tell me. But right now, you look so...”
Trinity could not come up with kind enough words. But it was too late to keep quiet here.

— “It's like you think talking about it will hurt you.”
It was like putting a noose around the neck and pulling it to avoid leaking anything. Secrets were like self-inflicted wounds.

— “I don't care how shocking it is, I won't judge. If the secret is dragging you down, let me hold the weight with you, even if it's just a little!”
There was little she could do. No powers or Arts would help her here.
But they could lean on each other, have each other's backs, and stay friends. On the other hand, there was nothing else she could do — she just wanted to do what she could, no matter how trivial.


Nine remained silent, staring off into space for a while. There was no telling if Trinity's words had even reached her. The crackling of the bonfire made the silence around her deafening, until Nine opened her mouth under the flamelight.


— “Look, I can't talk about it. And I don't want to... especially not to you.”

Nine turned her back on Trinity. The colors of the secrets she'd acknowledged were hidden by the dark shadow over her. Trinity held her breath and clasped both hands over her chest. Her words were now caught in her throat, and she could not swallow them.


— “I'm tired... sorry. Let me sleep.” Nine answered calmly, then went right back to pacing away.

— “Wait, Nine...!”

Even while appealing to Nine, Trinity's voice remained soft and gentle. That seemed to show the differences between the two — Nine only saw and felt different things from Trinity.

Nine did not stop, walking away from the light that bathed the blonde. She stepped into the cabin she'd rented to sleep in, before she finally closed the door.


Trinity could only stare without even stepping forward.


That closed door looked terribly heavy.

There was no light in Nine's rented hut, and the bonfire's light streamed in through the wood-framed windows. In the back room of this dark hut, Celica slept off her exhaustion. Just a little more consciousness, and she could feel Nirvana waiting by her side.

It was quiet. The silence was calming, thanks to the barrier Trinity had put up for Celica. In that soft calmness, Nine leaned against the closed door and bit her lip. There were wrinkles between her eyebrows. She could not use magic to light the place up and merely walking was a Herculean task; not because of excessive use of sorcery or physical exhaustion, but because of guilt.


It was ''always'' guilt.


Nine blamed herself internally. The feeling tormented her, but she was already used to it.


— “....I'm sorry, Trinity. I wronged you.”


She went to the bedroom in the back, sat down on the bed next to Celica and muttered faintly. The tears in her eyes were not of remorse, but coated with determination, with a hint of emotion swaying in the drops. She closed her eyes to keep them from flowing.


— “...but I can’t turn back anymore.”


With determination long settled in her heart, Nine laid down on the bed.


When Nine disappeared behind the door, Trinity unwittingly sighed. Nine had been acting strangely for a long time now. It had been only a few months before the return of the Black Beast when she'd noticed something strange about her best friend. The doubts and anxieties were not much to fret over then, but they had only grown over the years, and now they cast a dark shadow over Trinity's heart.


Nine had a serious secret, and she had to keep it all by herself.


Lately, she seemed to be pushing forward into something only she could see, like she was in a rush. Trinity wondered if this would one day blind Nine to the point of making her lose something precious. So she thought, but she was not worried.


— “It's just like... that time.”

She whispered; her lips murmuring on their own, like the words were spilling out. Trinity sighed in surprise at herself.


Maybe the sheer rush of the situation made her unexpectedly vulnerable — she could not believe she was thinking about "that time" at a time like this.


— “''Ayyyyy?'' What's with the happy face? Had a fight with your buddy?”

Trinity felt her heart at the sound of that voice. She looked up in shock, to see the source of the words: a slender man wearing a long coat and a hood that hid his appearance.
It was Terumi.

So many questions crossed her mind. How long had he been here? Why was he here? Did he hear her conversation with Nine? She did not even think of asking, though, because of her surprise; not because she had suddenly been spoken to, but because she swore Terumi looked — and sounded — like a friend she was not likely to see again. Who was he again...?

Maybe it was just nostalgia clouding her mind.


— “No... it wasn't a fight. Nine just looked tired, so I'm worried.”

— “Worry this, concern that... is that all you do?” Terumi mocked her. “You've got so much time on your hands, don't waste it worrying about other people!” Nine hated this tone of his, but it didn't get to Trinity that badly. Maybe it was his voice that jogged her memory...


But Trinity's discomfort quickly fell into sadness. Her friend sounded so much like this man, and she could not stop him from changing. The sheer regret weighed on her heart. He was never a stranger, yet he had been so close to her. She watched him be corrupted by his ambition, and then he disappeared... and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt strongly that it would ruin him.


''(Him...)''


Did he get what he'd been looking for? Where was he? What was he up to? If he was doing well... Trinity could not help but think.


— “...the hell are you looking at?” Terumi asked. “Something on my face?”


Terumi's grin twisted into discomfort.

Trinity's lips clamped shut at his change of expression, visible under the flamelight. She shook her head lightly, trying to brush that aside. There was no point in keeping Terumi in the shadow of her friend.


— “You're helping Nine, aren't you?” Trinity asked softly, putting her remorse aside. She had gone to investigate on behalf of Nine, who'd had trouble leaving Ishana, and had been entrusted with work on sorcery while Nine was busy with the Mage's Guild. But Trinity didn't know the details. — “What are you doing to help?”


She wondered if Nine had been hiding something. It was hard not to think so, but Trinity asked that more as small talk. She tilted her head and smiled, but Terumi unexpectedly went quiet. His twisted grin was gone, and he turned toward Trinity like his hood obscured a stern look.


— “Terumi...?”

— “...can't answer that~.” His sarcastic grin returned as he answered.


He shot a weird look at Celica and Nine’s hut, then walked away, like he didn’t care for it anymore.


His steps were light, to the point of silence. Terumi went back the way he came, until he blended into the shadows and disappeared without a trace.


Trinity stared at him, somewhat stunned, like she’d been nailed to her spot. Like a dark cloud gathering, she felt a bad omen coming. Her heart was racing, and there was nothing she could do about it.


...

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